What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital crypto-currency with no single point of failure due to its decentralized peer-to-peer architecture. The source code is publicly available and changes to the reference Bitcoin client are made via concensus within the community. Advantages of Bitcoin include irreversible transactions (i.e. no possibility of chargebacks as with credit cards),
pseudo-anonymous, limited and fixed inflation, near instant transactions, multi-platform, no double-spend and little to no barriers to entry and more. It was created by an anonymous person known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Find out more at WeUseCoins.com.

Will Google's Android Pay Support Bitcoin?Bitcoin MagazineGoogle has announced an upcoming mobile payments framework called Android Pay, Forbes reports. Android Pay will not be a separate payment app, but a platform that enables developers to integrate mobile payments into their apps using an API layer.

Commentary by Giulio Prisco. Google has announced an upcoming mobile payments framework called Android Pay, Forbes reports. Android Pay will not be a separate payment app, but a platform that enables developers to integrate mobile payments into their apps using an API layer. Google’s senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Google Apps Sundar Pichai announced the upcoming payment platform at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “We are doing it in a way so that anybody else can build a payments service on top of Android,” he said at a press event. “In places like China and Africa, we hope that people will use Android Pay to build innovative services.” Android Pay will be an Android service that developers […]

Bitcoin Startups Bring Rebittance Service to Argentina and MexicoCoinDeskBitcoin startups Volabit and SatoshiTango have opened a money transfer service between their respective countries through a collaboration called Coinnect. Volabit framed the offering as a bitcoin-powered international money bridge for remittances and ...

MGT Capital Investments announced a planned merger with Tera Group, which operates the first regulated U.S. Bitcoin derivatives exchange. The merger will create the first publicly traded U.S. Bitcoin derivatives exchange. As observed by The Wall Street Journal, this is a reverse merger where Tera will take a controlling stake in MGT. Tera doesn’t seem too interested in MGT’s gaming operations, so the operation is primarily a way for Tera to go public. In other words, Tera is buying a public listing on the stock market for its Bitcoin operations. Tera has played a leading role in the development of Bitcoin derivatives. In September 2014, Tera launched TeraExchange, the first regulated U.S. Bitcoin derivatives exchange, and TeraBit, a spot Bitcoin […]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT) is about to become the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund. The BIT will be an interesting option for traditional investors looking for exposure to Bitcoin who prefer not to trade Bitcoin as currency. The BIT is sponsored by Grayscale Investments, a part of Silbert’s Digital Currency Group. Currently, the BIT, launched in 2013, is a private, open-ended trust that is invested exclusively in bitcoin and derives its value solely from the price of bitcoin. It enables accredited investors, with annual incomes greater than $200,000 or assets of more than $1 million, to gain exposure to the price movement of bitcoin for a minimum investment of $25,000 without the […]

A common theme among bitcoiners is the desire to make the world a better place. This week, Decentral Talk Live focuses on a couple of organizations that are trying to do just that. Connie Gallippi is the Founder and Executive Director of the BitGive Foundation and a founding member of the Women’s Crypto Association. This week on DTL, Connie describes some of the many projects that the BitGive Foundation has been involved in, especially in Africa. They include Medic Mobile, Save the Children and the Water Project. She also discusses the role she played in getting ChangeTip to add the charitable donation option to their service. Connie then addresses the issue of inclusion and how the Women’s Crypto Association is […]

The process was “messy” but the results are in. The new board members for the Bitcoin Foundation are Olivier Janssens and Jim Harper with 63 percent and 60 percent approval respectively. Michael Perklin finished third with 52 percent approval followed by Bruce Fenton with 50 percent. Out of 595 confirmed voters, 440 votes were cast (74 percent). In order to be elected, candidates had to be approved by at least 50 percent of eligible voters. In the first round of voting, none of the 13 candidates met that 50 percent approval threshold, so a run-off election among the top 4 candidates was held. Olivier Janssens, a libertarian and voluntaryist, ran on a platform of decentralizing core development, bringing full transparency to the Foundation, and focusing on widespread adoption of […]

Pay your taxes in bitcoin? Maybe, if you live in one of three states now considering bills in support of that option. In January, Utah Republican state representative Mark K. Roberts introduced a bill, H.C.R. 6, to create a Council on Payment Options for State Services that will study how Utah could accept Bitcoin as a valid form of payment. The bill includes the possibility for Utah residents to pay state taxes using Bitcoin. In February, eight New Hampshire state representatives introduced a bipartisan bill, NH HB552, to propose that New Hampshire should officially accept Bitcoin for taxes and fees. The bill calls for the development of a detailed implementation plan, followed by operational acceptance of Bitcoin by the state […]

Speakers from the top companies in the Bitcoin industry will present a full-day mini-conference of Bitcoin-related content during the SXSW 2015 Interactive Festival. The event will take place Monday, March 16, at SXSW’s Startup Village in the Austin Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Downtown in Austin, Texas. The event will feature five sessions focusing on topics about the Bitcoin industry, with information from basic to advanced. Good and bad myths will be addressed, and speakers will share their vision for a future with Bitcoin. The hour-long sessions for the day are titled “What is Bitcoin?,” “Bitcoin 2.0,” “A Future with Bitcoin,” “Impact on Developing World,” and “Real World Applications.” Speakers for the event include: Nic Cary, co-founder at Blockchain Stephen […]

A guest interview by Jeff Handler Silicon Valley has become a symbol of technological innovation and achievement in the digital age – a shining beacon of progress and “disruption.” It’s hard to find someone in the Bay Area who isn’t working on some app or technology that promises to change the world forever. As Bitcoin has grown from an obscure, niche technology embraced by a few small, highly technical circles into an actual (though still obscure) “industry,” it shouldn’t surprise anyone that San Francisco/Silicon Valley has become the de-facto go-to spot for American Bitcoin companies to set up shop. While the Bay Area is certainly a great spot for a Bitcoin start-up, I invite you to hop on the 101 […]